November 6, 2010

Tom Scocca just wrote the definitive Obama analysis piece

I suggest you read it. There is no money quote, because it’s all gold, but here’s a sample:

History also says that when the economy is bad—gracious, why am I even typing this? If you are reading a blog post about politics on Slate, you already know it. You know that Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both took beatings in the midterms and went on to be reelected. Presidents and parties go up and down. The economy goes up and down. It makes for a pretty simple story. Keep an eye on the unemployment figures, and check back in 2012.

But Politico isn’t after a plausible story, it’s after the Narrative—the things that lawmakers, lobbyists, and veterans of previous administrations say to reporters in background conversations to explain how history would be different, if only the people in charge were as smart as they are. Barack Obama is a prisoner of his monstrous ego and blind self-confidence, and that is why Blanche Lincoln lost in Arkansas.

This could be posted in response to pretty much any “Obama Lost” hack analysis from the past week.